The Library of Legends

I really wanted to like this book! On paper, the premise of students fleeing with books containing ancient legends and myths from China during the second Sino-Japanese War sounded really appealing! I was intrigued by the inclusion of Historical Fantasy, in the form of these mythical creatures and people fleeing japan for the Kunlun Mountain, ostensibly because of the conflict. These immortal creatures (phoenixes, kirins, city gods, etc.) can only be seen by very few mortals, and the inclusion of their departures highlights the conflict that China underwent during this period. Essentially, the gods fled China during this period of war and conflict and left mortals to manage on their own.

Unfortunately, I thought the rest of the book was lackluster. The characters were a little flat, and there were romance elements I could have done without. There was also the brief inclusion of some political elements, where the main character, Lian, is coerced into spying on her fellow students for the government, but I never really felt drawn into hers or anyone else's story. I thought the ending was a nice period on a lukewarm story, but not enough for it to improve my feelings about the story any.